Greetings Commanders,
I felt it was time to put together some of the things I've learned over time, both from fellow Commanders who have been kind enough to teach me, and from my own experience, on how to survive the Community Goal rush in Open.
For those adrenaline junkies like me who enjoy the thrill, and don't mind putting in the time and effort to learn from their mistakes, Community Goals are a great way to boost skills, interact with other players, and make a little bit of cash on the side. Personally my favourites are the ones that need you to haul goods over to a place, because there's a rugged, Wild West feel to it as players rush for potentially ludicrious profits.
I fly with an engineered Type-9 that has a two-fighter bay, an expert crew member, and bowels of steel. Your config might vary, but I'm hoping this will be just as useful.
The big danger, like with any gold rush, is from profiteers and people who just want to see the world burn. Each to their own, I respect why people pirate or attack other players and won't get into the philosophy of it all. I do, however, believe in learning how to defend yourself [cool]
So, without much further ado, here are Commander Baba Ghannoush's tips to survive Community Goals in Open (if I miss anything, please feel free to share or correct me):
Loadout:
Your loadout should be about buying yourself valuable seconds of time to escape. You're there to escape, not fight a fully engineered FDL in a Type-6. Shield boosters, point defence, and chaff launchers are your friend.
If you can get a ship with fighter support, better. Hire an Expert crew member, they are worth the investment. You want your merchandise protected by pros, not some harmless pilot with a sob story.
If you can wing up, do it. If you can get multi-crew, go for it. There is definitely safety in numbers. Again, this isn't so you can put up a fight, though you can try if you fancy your chances. This is about your friends or crew members buying you enough time to High Wake the hell out of there before the other player disables your thrusters, or worse...
Tactics:
When you drop into the CG system, increase sensor range to maximum. Look out for hollow squares. The busier it is, the more there are. Do you see distortions in supercruise? If so, that means there are interdictions taking place, and some other, less fortunate players, are probably getting attacked too.
Hollow triangles mean the player has deployed hard points. In supercruise that means only one thing, FSD interdictor. Drop immediately rather than take any chances.
Take a look at the Contacts panel. A Fer-De-Lance in a Community Goal system is there for one thing and one thing only, to kill. If you see a lot of them, be on your guard.
If you don't feel safe, drop out of supercruise, preferrably at a distance from the star. Line up with the station or target, wait for the FSD to cool down, then jump again. Keep an eye out for any hollow squares or triangles that appear on your six. If you do see one, don't take any chances. Throttle right back down and drop out of Super Cruise. Keep doing this as many times as you feel comfortable.
Cargo hauling for a Community Goal needs a different mentality. Think of yourself as a WWII bomber pilot. You're heading into a place you know is hot, so you need to think quick and focus only on each task one at a time. The end goal is to land safely at the home station and drop that precious cargo.
If you get impatient, you'll die. If you get careless, you'll die. If you get arrogant, you'll die. Follow these tips, and maybe some of you rawhides will make it home in one piece and live to see payday.
Fly safe, Commanders!
***Added Tips from Fellow Commander*** [Hat tip to the Commanders in the comments below]
1. Flying in wide arcs outside of the trade lanes gives better visibility. Helps you to see if another player is lining up for interdiction behind you.
2. Submitting to an interdiction means your FSD will cool down faster than your pursuer.
3. Engineered torpedoes. I don't know if they help, but I like the sound of that [yesnod]
4. Might seem obvious, but don't skimp on shields just to squeeze in a few more tonnes of cargo space.
5. Make sure the profit from the CG is more than what you'd lose if you lost your ship.
6. Also, though this might be debatable, don't use the Elite crew members for CG trade runs.
7. Planetary gravity breaking. Using the planet's gravity well to slow down, and to then approach the station with the planet from behind to protect the rear.
8. Watch this great video by Rinzler on how to "Git Gud" trading in open. Good info here:
[video=youtube;Uh9AWV_BWo0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh9AWV_BWo0[/video]
9. A fabulous guide that is well worth reading can be found here by fellow Commander M. Volgrand, "The Art of Blockade Running"
10. Don't jump into a CG system without enough fuel to jump out.
11. Keep your eye on your approach. Don't get distracted by the sensors or you will overshoot and risk getting interdicted as you circle back.
12. If your FSD is stuck cooling down, don't rely just on your thrusters and shields to hold out until you can high wake.
13. *Do not be afraid to use Emergency Drop from Super Cruise* - if you spot another player already lined up on your six, don't throttle down and wait for the speed to drop before exiting SC. Immediately hit the J button twice (or whatever button you've configured) and hang the damage to your modules. It's only minimal anyway, and far better than seeing a rebuy screen.
I felt it was time to put together some of the things I've learned over time, both from fellow Commanders who have been kind enough to teach me, and from my own experience, on how to survive the Community Goal rush in Open.
For those adrenaline junkies like me who enjoy the thrill, and don't mind putting in the time and effort to learn from their mistakes, Community Goals are a great way to boost skills, interact with other players, and make a little bit of cash on the side. Personally my favourites are the ones that need you to haul goods over to a place, because there's a rugged, Wild West feel to it as players rush for potentially ludicrious profits.
I fly with an engineered Type-9 that has a two-fighter bay, an expert crew member, and bowels of steel. Your config might vary, but I'm hoping this will be just as useful.
The big danger, like with any gold rush, is from profiteers and people who just want to see the world burn. Each to their own, I respect why people pirate or attack other players and won't get into the philosophy of it all. I do, however, believe in learning how to defend yourself [cool]
So, without much further ado, here are Commander Baba Ghannoush's tips to survive Community Goals in Open (if I miss anything, please feel free to share or correct me):
Loadout:
Your loadout should be about buying yourself valuable seconds of time to escape. You're there to escape, not fight a fully engineered FDL in a Type-6. Shield boosters, point defence, and chaff launchers are your friend.
If you can get a ship with fighter support, better. Hire an Expert crew member, they are worth the investment. You want your merchandise protected by pros, not some harmless pilot with a sob story.
If you can wing up, do it. If you can get multi-crew, go for it. There is definitely safety in numbers. Again, this isn't so you can put up a fight, though you can try if you fancy your chances. This is about your friends or crew members buying you enough time to High Wake the hell out of there before the other player disables your thrusters, or worse...
Tactics:
When you drop into the CG system, increase sensor range to maximum. Look out for hollow squares. The busier it is, the more there are. Do you see distortions in supercruise? If so, that means there are interdictions taking place, and some other, less fortunate players, are probably getting attacked too.
Hollow triangles mean the player has deployed hard points. In supercruise that means only one thing, FSD interdictor. Drop immediately rather than take any chances.
Take a look at the Contacts panel. A Fer-De-Lance in a Community Goal system is there for one thing and one thing only, to kill. If you see a lot of them, be on your guard.
If you don't feel safe, drop out of supercruise, preferrably at a distance from the star. Line up with the station or target, wait for the FSD to cool down, then jump again. Keep an eye out for any hollow squares or triangles that appear on your six. If you do see one, don't take any chances. Throttle right back down and drop out of Super Cruise. Keep doing this as many times as you feel comfortable.
Cargo hauling for a Community Goal needs a different mentality. Think of yourself as a WWII bomber pilot. You're heading into a place you know is hot, so you need to think quick and focus only on each task one at a time. The end goal is to land safely at the home station and drop that precious cargo.
If you get impatient, you'll die. If you get careless, you'll die. If you get arrogant, you'll die. Follow these tips, and maybe some of you rawhides will make it home in one piece and live to see payday.
Fly safe, Commanders!
***Added Tips from Fellow Commander*** [Hat tip to the Commanders in the comments below]
1. Flying in wide arcs outside of the trade lanes gives better visibility. Helps you to see if another player is lining up for interdiction behind you.
2. Submitting to an interdiction means your FSD will cool down faster than your pursuer.
3. Engineered torpedoes. I don't know if they help, but I like the sound of that [yesnod]
4. Might seem obvious, but don't skimp on shields just to squeeze in a few more tonnes of cargo space.
5. Make sure the profit from the CG is more than what you'd lose if you lost your ship.
6. Also, though this might be debatable, don't use the Elite crew members for CG trade runs.
7. Planetary gravity breaking. Using the planet's gravity well to slow down, and to then approach the station with the planet from behind to protect the rear.
8. Watch this great video by Rinzler on how to "Git Gud" trading in open. Good info here:
[video=youtube;Uh9AWV_BWo0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh9AWV_BWo0[/video]
9. A fabulous guide that is well worth reading can be found here by fellow Commander M. Volgrand, "The Art of Blockade Running"
10. Don't jump into a CG system without enough fuel to jump out.
11. Keep your eye on your approach. Don't get distracted by the sensors or you will overshoot and risk getting interdicted as you circle back.
12. If your FSD is stuck cooling down, don't rely just on your thrusters and shields to hold out until you can high wake.
13. *Do not be afraid to use Emergency Drop from Super Cruise* - if you spot another player already lined up on your six, don't throttle down and wait for the speed to drop before exiting SC. Immediately hit the J button twice (or whatever button you've configured) and hang the damage to your modules. It's only minimal anyway, and far better than seeing a rebuy screen.
Last edited:
